Category Archives: Publishing

Writing Tips: The Taxman Cometh

As it happens, I’m doing my taxes today (I’m expecting a refund, so there’s no reason to wait for April), and so I thought I would share a bit of information about professional writers and their tax process.  For those … Continue reading

Posted in Business of publishing, Publishing, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Writing Tips: More on Dialogue — Conversations As Narrative

The other day, in my first Writing Tips post, I wrote about said-bookisms and the challenges of dialogue attribution.  Just to reiterate, the key to effective dialogue attribution is showing readers the emotions and thoughts of those characters who speak … Continue reading

Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Friendship, Novels, Publishing, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Writing Tips: Said-Bookisms, the Obscure Sin that Can Doom a Manuscript

I’ve been writing professionally for more than fifteen years, and I’ve been reading avidly for far longer.  Over the years the publishing market has seen sea-changes in almost every respect, with ramifications for the business, the very act of reading, … Continue reading

Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Short Fiction, Thieftaker, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Researching New Thieftaker Books

One of the things that often strikes friends and family as strange about my work is the distance in time between “what I’m working on” and “what I have coming out.”  We are still six months away from the July … Continue reading

Posted in Boston, Ethan Kaille, History, Novels, Publishing, Reading, Research, Setting, Thieftaker, Thieves' Quarry, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Appearances for 2012!

I have just updated the D.B. Jackson website with a listing of my appearances for this year.  Right now the list is a bit thin.  I’ll be at Marcon (Columbus, Ohio) in April, ConCarolinas (Charlotte, NC) in June, and World … Continue reading

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THIEFTAKER Galley Proofs

This week I am proofreading the galley proofs — the typeset text — of Thieftaker, book I in the Thieftaker Chronicles (due out from Tor Books in July of this year).  This is the author’s final step in the production … Continue reading

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Writing Short Stories in the THIEFTAKER Universe

I often advise aspiring writers to step away from their novels now and again and work on short stories.  Why?  Well, for one thing, writing successful short stories is challenging.  The short form demands an economy of style that those … Continue reading

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News About THIEFTAKER!

Okay, some of the news is not so good.  The official hardcover release date for Thieftaker, book 1 of The Thieftaker Chronicles, has been pushed back once more, this time to July 2012. But other than that, it’s all good … Continue reading

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Free to Write

Been a while in between posts.  Sorry for that.  Spent a week out West traveling with my family (and enjoying a memorable birthday in the Grand Canyon). But I’m back now, feeling refreshed and eager to work.  As I’ve mentioned … Continue reading

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Release Day for AFTER HOURS

After Hours:  Tales From the Ur-Bar is now officially out and available for purchase!  This anthology, edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray, and published by DAW, includes “The Tavern Fire,” the very first D.B. Jackson publication.  Set in Boston, … Continue reading

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